Jordie Woods and Andrew Lane met in elementary school, spending their childhood together playing the same sports and living less than a mile away from each other in Radford. On New Year's Eve of Jordie's junior year of high school, Andrew asked her to be his girlfriend. Their romance began, and continued as an unwavering long-distance relationship for five years when Jordie stayed in Blacksburg to attend Virginia Tech while Andrew decided to go to college several hours away. While the couple was on vacation in South Carolina during Jordie's sophomore year at Tech, they had a date night planned: a romantic dinner at a local restaurant followed by a walk on the beach to take pictures with Andrew's new GoPro (an early birthday gift from Jordie). After setting up the GoPro on a time lapse to take photos, Andrew turned to Jordie, and, pulling out a little ring box from his pocket, asked her to be his wife.

Because family is so important to Jordie and Andrew, they wanted their wedding to reflect their values and traditions, so Andrew's father, a pastor in Radford, officiated the ceremony while Jordie's sister was her maid of honor. While Jordie feels that "having a traditional wedding makes it hard to be unique," the couple found a big way to make their celebration more special: forgoing the popular "First Look" and instead seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day as Jordie walked down the aisle, carrying her bouquet of bold, multicolored wildflowers. Seeing her future husband at the end of the aisle waiting for her, and knowing that their long wait was over, Jordie says that she was overcome with emotion and "happy-cried the whole way down the aisle." To add another personal element, a dear friend of Jordie played the violin during the couple's traditional and emotional ceremony, a ceremony that the couple's family from all over the United States came to help them celebrate. "It was amazing to be surrounded by family who love us so much," Jordie says.

Lindsey and Matt first met while she was waiting tables in Radford. Matt was a regular customer, and they got to know each other during her shifts. After Lindsey completed nursing school, the two were able to spend time together outside of the restaurant and became an official couple. During a trip to Gatlinburg, Matt and Lindsey got on the ski lift; there, Matt realized his love for Lindsey. Years later, Matt took her to that same spot to propose. As it turned out, he'd had her custom antique ring for three years, purchasing it the day she fell in love with it and listening to her wishes of how she'd wear the special piece.

While Matt wanted Hokie colors for a palette, he went for colorful Hokie socks so LIndsey could have her choice of aubergine and gold. The bridesmaids wore long purple gowns, with beautiful bouquets to match. It's hard for Lindsey to pick only one memorable wedding day moment, as she holds all of them dear to her heart, as "everything was perfect!" Along with the fabulous night, the newylweds - bourbon lovers - added a bourbon and cigar bar to their reception, which turned out to be a smashing success for their guests. Lindsey personally picked out all of their decor, which either came from their home, or is now something in their home, incorporating their new life together.

Though Samantha and Brendan lived right across from each other in college, the two didn't officially meet until they both had graduated, and, even then, it was by complete chance.

Considering the couple met in Blacksburg, Brendan decided to take Samantha back to the vibrant college town for his proposal. They spent a romantic day visiting their favorite local places and then shared diner at the Palisades restaurant. Brendan proposed after desert and was met with booming applause from the entire restaurant and a "yes!" from Samantha, of course.

The wedding also took place in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech alumni, Samantha and Brendan both love Blacksburg and consider it their forever home. It holds a great deal of significance to both their families and to them as a couple. The beautiful scenery of the Blacksburg Country Club was an added bonus and created a picturesque backdrop for their reception.

Brendan and Samantha wanted their wedding to have plenty of personal touches. Two of the couple's favorite books, "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Call of the Wild," were used as ring bearer "pillows," and, rather than traditional boutonnieres, the groomsmen donned fly fishing flies. Additionally, bits and pieces of Hokie memorabilia were used as decorations throughout the venue as an added nod to the couple's alma matter. These details created a portrait of the bride and groom's passions and hobbies and allowed them to use their crafting skills together in order to create a deeply personal and unique celebration.

One of the most memorable aspects of the celebration for Samantha was dancing with all the guests at the reception. She described the feeling of celebrating with friends and loved ones as "entirely magical." At the end of the evening, her, Brendan, and some of their closest friends danced together to Pharell Williams' "Happy," which captured the mood of the reception perfectly. Samantha also noted how beautifully her flowers and wedding cake matched the look and feel of the reception. Everything "fit perfectly," she said.

Be sure to see the Clark wedding on page 115 of the third issue of bridebook!